Defrag Blog

Another Defrag is done, and things turned out very well. I’ve already thanked attendees, sponsors and speakers privately, but let me say this again publicly — THANK YOU — we are quite obviously nothing without all of you.

That said, I spend around 2 months post-Defrag “pondering” what went right and what went wrong - and then I head into 30-60 days of talking with specific sponsors and speakers prior to picking up the rock and getting to the top of the hill again. One caveat: my brain is still pretty much oatmeal. I’m going to start some rambling “defragging defrag” thoughts, but no one should mistake this for “eric at the top of his game.”

What we did wrong (an ongoing list of suggestions, nit-picks, etc):

1. Power outlets at the tables by the windows: We had power strips in the general session room (as always), but those of you that were there know how popular the “tables by the windows” outside of the rooms were. I got a great suggestion to have power there as well.

2. Session descriptions: I always struggle with this one. Some people would love session descriptions, others like the “open-ended” nature of things. What I’d like to do is find a way for speakers to collaboratively write the descriptions.

3. Un-evenness of content on Day 2: I felt (and heard) that we had some un-evenness of content quality from day 1 to day 2. Noted - and will be fixed. Folks were blaming presenters, etc - but really, the “blame” always falls to me. Don’t get me wrong, some of our most popular speakers were on Day 2 - but I’m striving for perfection here not merely “good enough.”

4. Lack of Open Space: We didn’t have the 90 minute open space this year, and I think we felt the effects. As an organizer, I want to find ways to move people out of their conversational comfort zone (and into surprising situations). We’ll get that done next year.

5. Lots of miscellany: A table not in the right place, a late start on a session, the lack of “protein” at breakfast, a moment that wasn’t orchestrated correctly, a speaker that wasn’t properly prepared. I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff on this list.

6. Digging deeper: We need to find a way to maintain the “high level” talk, while digging deeper into specific topics. Case in point: “social networking” was everywhere this year at Defrag, but I felt like we never managed to get past the cursory discussions. I want to outline the big issues, and then dig into specific areas as needed. It’s a tough balancing act, but one that we’ll work on. I’ve taken to describing this as “tying down our big balloon of thoughts with 2 or 3 ropes” (i.e., not becoming “grounded” but still being tied to the ground).

7. Moving the best to the forefront: There were a some speakers that really needed to be in keynote slots that weren’t. Stowe Boyd, Brian Oberkirch and the boys from Get Satisfaction were cited in the surveys - and I agree.

What we did right:

1. Amazing people: For reasons I don’t completely understand, Defrag draws one amazing group of people. I am always shocked at the sheer energy that is generated in discussions.

2. Some spectacular speakers: As stated above, we had some great speakers. The ones that were called out in surveys included Daniela Barbosa, Stowe Boyd, Brian Oberkirch, Get Satisfaction, Charlene Li and Paul Kedrosky. Bill Duggan (our opener) came out on top as the absolute favorite speaker.

3. Atmosphere: I’m not sure if it shows through or not (I’m way too close to the thing), but Kim and I literally rip our hair out trying to make Defrag’s atmosphere conducive to interactions that blow your mind. We learn something every year, but I received so many great comments about this year that I’m feeling pretty good.

4. Sponsors: People genuinely *liked* interacting with our sponsors this year. Many, many folks cited “visiting the booths” as a highlight for them. Interestingly, those same people tended to comment that our sponsors need to focus on differentiation.

5. The Passport Program: this was just fun. Everyone getting their stamps and looking for prizes. Folks dug it. We’ll do it again next year.

6. BoF dinners: Again, an area we made work this year that didn’t work in year 1. Thanks Get Satisfaction - folks loved it! (My favorite BoF was the “bowling and drinking” BoF.)

7. The “pre-conference” email dinner: Our 25 person experiment really came off well (thanks to Chris Wand and Microsoft). Next year, we’ll be expanding this and finding ways to bring the initial group back together for more discussion later in the defrag experience.

8. Twitter: Okay, one person thought I was too flippant about “everyone using twitter” (hi jennifer!) - and maybe so, but the folks at defrag are certainly not mainstream. Eventvue’s “mega-aggregation” of the feeds was a real plus, and the 1500 tweets generated in 2 days was just cool. (sidenote: kudos to Eventvue for a real step forward in how to effectively implement social networking at conferences.)

9. Press and Analysts: We had some very nice press come out of the show, and I know that folks had time to catch up with analysts old and new as well.

10. New topics surfaced: Next-gen messaging/email, analytics and “crisis informatics” will be getting highlighted in big ways next year. One of the best moments for me was meeting a guy from the Department of Homeland Security that showed up without being registered and just wanted to “see who was there.” The resulting conversation was completely fascinating to me as he highlighted the research they’re doing around “crisis informatics” and how all of this “stuff” is affecting their thinking around crisis response and management. Look for a keynote around this next year.

Bottom Line: running a conference with essentially two people (my incredible wife Kim and myself) is one of the most exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, wonderful things you can do. We really do bang our heads against the wall for the seven months prior to Defrag, and more than anything, I hope that shows through. I often joke that “all that is good” at Defrag is because of Kim, while “all that is bad” is most likely my fault, but that’s really not as much of a joke as it seems.

Thanks to all of you that attended Defrag. It feels to me like we’re building one helluva community, and I can’t wait to hang out, clear our heads, and drive innovation forward again next year.